Refuse to Lose Heart
by Ilse'sPurpleSummer
Summary: The second installment of my "What the Heart Wants" 'verse. Eddie's death leaves a huge hole in Joanie's life, and coming to terms with it is harder than she'd ever imagined. Featuring Chyna, Vickie and her daughters, and a little bit of Steph. Mostly the story of Chyna's transition to Joanie, with a big surprise at the end. VERY mild Chyna/Steph.


A/N Allrighty, my lovlies. This is the sequel to my story "What the Heart Wants." I wasn't really planning on continuing it, but it got an unusual amount of story alerts. Hopefully you all received the alert directing you here. This is mostly a transitional story, showing what Joanie has been up to since the close of the last story. I would like to dedicate this story not only to Lauryn, but to all of you who alerted and reviewed, without you I may not have continued this. ***cookies for all*** so without further ado...

Title: Refuse to Lose Heart

Pairing: Stephanie/Chyna

It takes a while, but Joanie finally learns to be herself. Just the thought of that alone is amazing, that she can be herself and it's okay. Settling in LA was the best thing she ever did. She had a gorgeous beach house, not too big but not too small, that opened up right onto the beach. She went running next to the ocean every morning. She did yoga, allowed her body to become more soft and feminine. Her cheeks filled out, and she didn't look as fierce. If she felt down, Eddie and Vickie were just a phone call away. They had adopted her into their family, and she couldn't be happier. She was so glad when they were able to work through their differences, because she could see how much they loved each other.

Joanie's own romantic life is non-existant, but she's more than okay with that. It took her a long time to get over the gorgeous spitfire brunette who had married her ex-boyfriend. She sometimes tuned into Raw or Smackdown just to see her in action. She still loved her, probably always would, but it was easier for her to deal with it now. It didn't hurt to hear J.R. and King talk about "The Game's wife, Stephanie." As long as Steph was happy, she was content.

Joanie's world came crashing to pieces on November 13th, 2005, when Vickie called her, sobbing and begging for her to come to Texas. Eddie was dead.

She stood there frozen, holding the phone so tightly she thought she would crush it. Eddie couldn't be dead, she'd just talked to him the night before. He'd been so excited about working with Dave, and looking forward to seeing her in two weeks when the show would be in Culver City. He was going to stay with her, instead of a hotel, so they could catch up. The sound of Vickie crying snapped her back to attention, and she told her she'd be on the next flight out. She arrived in El Paso just after dawn. When she got to the Guerrero house, Shaul and Sherilyn rushed out of the house screaming "AUNT JOANIE" and squeezing the life out of her. Shaul started crying as Joanie hugged them back, and Joanie wiped the tears from her cheeks and kissed her forehead. She picked up Sherilyn and carried her in, Shaul trailing behind her. Once she was inside, she found Vickie in Eddie's library. Vickie's face was tearstained, and Joanie just enfolded Vickie in her arms so they could cry together.

The next few weeks were a blur, misery blending them together. Joanie stayed with Vickie and the girls for a month. She offered to stay longer, even to move in with them if Vickie needed her to. But Vickie insisted she didn't need to.

"I know how happy you are in LA, I don't want you to uproot your life for us," she said over and over.

"You are my family, Vickie, you guys are the biggest part of my life," Joanie said back every time.

Two days before Joanie was supposed to leave, she heard a crash and rushed into the library to find Vickie standing in the middle of the room, books and papers everywhere.

"I can't... I can't stay in this house anymore, Joanie, I just can't, everything reminds me of him," she sobbed. "I need to get out... I need to get out and not come back." Joanie held her until she quieted.

"Come with me. You and the girls can stay with me until you figure out what you need to do."

And so Joanie plus the three Guerrero women were on the flight to LA two days later. It took a month, but Vickie decided that LA was where she and the girls would stay for good. Joanie helped them find a house in a quiet neighborhood, where no one would bother them. Shaul was already talking about wanting to follow in Eddie's footsteps and become a champion. Dave and Oscar came to visit them as often as they could, and Vince himself told Vickie that he would take care of her and the girls, that he would always have a place for her in the company.

It took nearly five months for things to start feeling anywhere close to normal. Joanie's days fell back into a rhythem, but this time it was different. She still ran on the beach, did yoga, and meditated, but now her daily routine included picking up Shaul and Sherilyn from school every day, helping them with their homework, and more often than not eating dinner with them and Vickie. The Guerrero women were just a 10 minute drive away, so she spent as much time as she could with them. She knew she couldn't replace Eddie, but she could give them some additional stability.

Friday night after dinner with the girls, Joanie drove home and instead of going inside, she walked along the beach for a bit, talking to Eddie as she did. She liked to do that from time to time, just to let him know how the girls and Vickie were, and how much they missed him. When she finally ambled onto the front porch, she was shocked to see the very familiar figure of her brunette siren sitting on her front porch, several suitcases sitting next to her, head bowed.

"S-Stephanie?" Joanie gasped. "What on earth are you doing here?" Stephanie raised her head, her face streaked with tears.

"I... I've left Hunter."

**To be continued...**

A/N: muahahahahahaha. Don't worry, I should post the next story within two weeks. I'm having way too much fun with this 'verse to stop now :D I'm also accepting ideas as to why Steph has left Hunter, so please, feel free to let me know yours!


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